Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was expected Wednesday night to announce government approval for a new milk-free milk protein produced by the Israeli “Remilk” company.
The company was founded by CEO Aviv Wolff, an entrepreneur behind several business and social initiatives, and CTO Ori Cohavi, PhD in Biochemistry, who has worked in R&D at a variety of biotech firms.
Remilk produces “animal-free dairy protein” that is identical to cow-derived whey protein but produced without a single animal cell via precision fermentation.
Unlike plant-based dairy alternatives, the proteins are bio-equivalent to their traditional counterparts and enable the production of dairy that the company says is indistinguishable in taste and function from traditional dairy but without lactose, cholesterol, and hormones, and with a fraction of the environmental impact.
Netanyahu toured the Remilk offices last month. The prime minister was slated to announce marketing approval for the product during a visit to the Steakholder alternative meat company in Rehovot – another Israeli startup in the alternative protein sector.
Remilk has raised more than $130 million since its establishment in 2019.
The company recently won both regulatory approval from the Singapore Food Authority (SFA) and a “no questions letter” from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), indicating the FDA accepted the unanimous conclusion from an expert panel that Remilk’s animal-free whey protein can be safely used in food products.
“Both SFA’s approval and the No Questions Letter we received from the FDA serve as further proof that our animal-free milk protein is bioidentical to its cow-derived counterpart and safe for consumption,” Wolff said in a statement after receiving the approvals.
“Humans have consumed milk proteins as a staple source of high-quality nutrition for millennia. Remilk’s animal-free protein maintains these great benefits, enabling us to reinvent dairy that is kinder, and significantly more sustainable. We take pride in these regulatory approvals and look forward to a continued global focus on unlocking the future of food,” he added.
The company still requires approvals from regulatory bodies in Israel which include a long process with the food risk management unit at the Ministry of Health and the regulatory unit at the Prime Minister’s Office.
